Ten yours after the last "taxi war" there is taxi trouble again on the streets of Riga. The stimulus has been the production of a fleet of Air Baltic coloured taxis operating out of the airport and trying to deliver (for now) a service that does not cost and arm and a leg.
For far too long, Riga taxis have been ripping off tourists, charging criminal amounts for the short journey too and from the airport. This has not been helped by the appalling bus service. Thankfully the new Mayor of Riga, Nils Ushakovs cut the ridiculous baggage charge on the bus route. The idiot inspectors were pouncing on unwitting tourists and fining them, thereby ensuring that they never darkened the doors of a Riga hotel again. Now at last something sensible is happening. Hopefully the Interior Ministry, police and Riga council will settle any political differences they may have and get us a taxi service we can all afford to use. I suspect that this may take some time though.
Ushakovs also this week went round the Old Town night clubs and read them the riot act. We shall see how much effect this has. At least he is trying.
So now the summer sales have finished and the new winter clothes are in the shops. Some clothes shops have started to discount already and I have seen 70% off already in several places. Sadly I cant afford to buy everything I want! It is clear that we still have huge overcapacity. There are enough jeans on sale to keep all of India happy, and there are more badly made and expensive cheap-cloth suits than Latvia could ever want.
Flat prices appear to be dropping more slowly this month. One reason might be that there have been lots of moves into cheaper flats already reducing demand. The medium priced new flat owners (most with larger debts) are hanging on and trying to avoid the inevitable. But when the utility bills come in many will have to bite the bullet to get a tenant. A Russian firm has gone round offering cash for flats in our block. I guess they have gone everywhere. I forecast a spate of cheap cash sales in about two months.
I have seen another couple of businesses not taking credit cards. I wonder when un-taxable cash will truly become King in Riga (as it is already in the regions).
The anti corruption bureau is now also inevitably being squeezed for funds. I would have thought that this was one of the last things that should go. It shows that the government still has not got joined up policies. There are far less important things to cut than this, especially at the moment with lots of free IMF money sloshing about.
More beggars - but in town still no children. This used to be a feature in the past. I guess the police are stopping them. There is though a growing number of clearly homeless mentally ill people roaming the streets. They are a terribly sad sight as they drag dozens of full plastic bags around. Many of these people, and the normal beggars are physically handicapped in some way which says much about the social system here. We have so so far to go.
Showing posts with label Police. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Police. Show all posts
Friday, September 4, 2009
Saturday, April 25, 2009
IS IT ALL AN ILLUSION?
I have been working on some Telecoms stuff for Ukraine all this week. I suspect the chances of turning it into folding money are slim but the opportunity is too good to waste. But whilst doing my research on Ukraine I read a comment that despite the terrible troubles with the Government and the growing poverty, the outdoor street cafes and downtown life of Kiev are going on as if all was rosy.
I had the same feeling yesterday afternoon as I walked through Old Riga. The sun was shining, the outdoor cafes were full, young boys on roller blades were being annoying and very tall Latvian girls (6 foot 3 or more) were walking around with short skirts and high heels talking 10 to the dozen and totally unnoticed by all except us foreigners. There was simply no sign of crisis at all. But at lunchtime I was celebrating a Names Day with my friend Visvaldis and he said that his company could last no more than three months. I know the feeling! My publishing client from last week is not going to last a month I suspect, and has still not paid me, and whats worse, one serious client company emailed me this week to say that I would have to wait another month for payment. All my book learning and cash flow projections go out of the window at times like this. So thank you Matthew in Athletics Weekly for your speedy contribution for my writing.
But if this normality that we have been seeing these past months is really an illusion and not real then why are the government apparently doing so little. The plans that are coming out show no urgency, or desire to make serious changes. I went to a Latvian school recently to a friends daughters parents day and the headmistress said that she had had to make no cuts at all. She was totally unconcerned about it all and it showed. There is much political talk of reform on television every day but if anything is happening, nothing is evident. The police still patrol in threes and fours carrying briefcases and bags, wearing inappropriate shoes and talking to each other as if the world around them is not there.
Perhaps I have got it wrong and I am an illusion and not really there? No that's not true, the tram and bus inspectors keep checking me - so they can see me all right.
I had the same feeling yesterday afternoon as I walked through Old Riga. The sun was shining, the outdoor cafes were full, young boys on roller blades were being annoying and very tall Latvian girls (6 foot 3 or more) were walking around with short skirts and high heels talking 10 to the dozen and totally unnoticed by all except us foreigners. There was simply no sign of crisis at all. But at lunchtime I was celebrating a Names Day with my friend Visvaldis and he said that his company could last no more than three months. I know the feeling! My publishing client from last week is not going to last a month I suspect, and has still not paid me, and whats worse, one serious client company emailed me this week to say that I would have to wait another month for payment. All my book learning and cash flow projections go out of the window at times like this. So thank you Matthew in Athletics Weekly for your speedy contribution for my writing.
But if this normality that we have been seeing these past months is really an illusion and not real then why are the government apparently doing so little. The plans that are coming out show no urgency, or desire to make serious changes. I went to a Latvian school recently to a friends daughters parents day and the headmistress said that she had had to make no cuts at all. She was totally unconcerned about it all and it showed. There is much political talk of reform on television every day but if anything is happening, nothing is evident. The police still patrol in threes and fours carrying briefcases and bags, wearing inappropriate shoes and talking to each other as if the world around them is not there.
Perhaps I have got it wrong and I am an illusion and not really there? No that's not true, the tram and bus inspectors keep checking me - so they can see me all right.
Saturday, November 22, 2008
DANGEROUS DRIVING, THE LAW, AND THE PRESIDENT
Of the five worst examples of dangerous driving I have ever seen, two were in Italy. The first was on a mountain road near the Brenner pass into Austria in the early 80s. I was heading to a ski camp in Antholz. A fiat overtook me on a sharp blind corner going far too fast. About 5 km later I was not at all surprised to see the car in a snowy field where the driver had steered it off the road rather than crash into an oncoming lorry. The driver was standing by the car clearly shaken but unhurt. He was lucky.
The second incident was on the Bologna - Padova motorway when I was coming back from an evening at the Jazz club in Bologna. (totally sober I might add) I drove into the inevitable thick mist that every autumn and winter covers the flat plain 30km either side of the river Po. The visibility was about 15m so I slowed down and drove very very carefully. Suddenly a container lorry passed me in the outside lane driving at least 100km an hour. It was going so fast the trailer was swaying dangerously behind it and it forced me to swerve hard onto the hard shoulder. I was seriously shaken and almost missed the Ferarra turnoff a few minutes later. I was grateful to get home alive that night.
The other five dangerous examples have all been in Riga and concern the police escort drivers. At least two of these have been with the President and a third I was not sure because they were going so fast it was impossible to see who the cars were carrying. I have watched cars swerve away out of their lanes to escape the aggressive attack, and people jump back onto the pavement in fear. Sooner or later these police will kill someone who cannot get across a crossing fast enough when they jump the red lights. It is inevitable. It will be a mother with pram or someone disabled who simply cannot move away.
There are many facets to this. The first is that dangerous driving is against the law and these police should be prosecuted like anyone else. The second is that they appear to believe that breaking the law is alright for them but not for others. Why do the traffic police not stop and arrest them for example? Are they given orders by senior police not to do so. If so the senior police should resign and go and farm somewhere. They are not doing their job.
The third thing is that by convention, the senior person in a car or in a cavalcade is the person responsible for the way that the cars are driven. This places the responsibility firmly upon the head of the President. Why does he allow this dangerous practice day after day? We are not in Belgrade or any high risk security area. If there is a death then who will be guilty of manslaughter, the driver or the President? Cars when driven aggressively are a weapon and should be considered as such by law.
John Adams, the second president of the United States was fond of saying that he wanted a country that was ruled by law and not by men. We need that too in Latvia. This means that Presidents and police should also abide by the law. If they do not, then what point is there having any law at all?
The second incident was on the Bologna - Padova motorway when I was coming back from an evening at the Jazz club in Bologna. (totally sober I might add) I drove into the inevitable thick mist that every autumn and winter covers the flat plain 30km either side of the river Po. The visibility was about 15m so I slowed down and drove very very carefully. Suddenly a container lorry passed me in the outside lane driving at least 100km an hour. It was going so fast the trailer was swaying dangerously behind it and it forced me to swerve hard onto the hard shoulder. I was seriously shaken and almost missed the Ferarra turnoff a few minutes later. I was grateful to get home alive that night.
The other five dangerous examples have all been in Riga and concern the police escort drivers. At least two of these have been with the President and a third I was not sure because they were going so fast it was impossible to see who the cars were carrying. I have watched cars swerve away out of their lanes to escape the aggressive attack, and people jump back onto the pavement in fear. Sooner or later these police will kill someone who cannot get across a crossing fast enough when they jump the red lights. It is inevitable. It will be a mother with pram or someone disabled who simply cannot move away.
There are many facets to this. The first is that dangerous driving is against the law and these police should be prosecuted like anyone else. The second is that they appear to believe that breaking the law is alright for them but not for others. Why do the traffic police not stop and arrest them for example? Are they given orders by senior police not to do so. If so the senior police should resign and go and farm somewhere. They are not doing their job.
The third thing is that by convention, the senior person in a car or in a cavalcade is the person responsible for the way that the cars are driven. This places the responsibility firmly upon the head of the President. Why does he allow this dangerous practice day after day? We are not in Belgrade or any high risk security area. If there is a death then who will be guilty of manslaughter, the driver or the President? Cars when driven aggressively are a weapon and should be considered as such by law.
John Adams, the second president of the United States was fond of saying that he wanted a country that was ruled by law and not by men. We need that too in Latvia. This means that Presidents and police should also abide by the law. If they do not, then what point is there having any law at all?
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